Firefly director Vamshi: Vicky’s problems are generational; Gen Z is very self-centred…

In debutant director Vamshi’s film Firefly, which releases on April 24, 2025, and has been produced by Niveditha Shivarajkumar, the granddaughter of matinee idol Dr Rajkumar, the protagonist Vicky, is a man in his early 20s, with a lot of emotional baggage that’s also left him with a feeling of emptiness. That, of course, begets the question – what is it about Gen Z that they are weighed down by problems when they’ve barely even seen life? Are Vicky’s issues generational or unique to him?

“It’s a generational problem. If you look at Gen Z, they are very self-centred and don’t care about what others think or say about them; all that matters are their own emotions. Older generations are not as invested in emotions as they are. If they are sad, they really feel it; like, for instance, when they are sad, they’ll call a friend and have ice cream to talk about this state of emotion. This is a generation that wants to experience every emotion, for self-care,” explained Vamshi, in conversation with Kairam Vaashi, as part of the promotions of Firefly.

Gen Z, he reckons, are not the most responsible people, but they are concerned about human emotions; not just their own, but of people around them too. That is also why, once there is an emotional breakdown, it is difficult for them to come out of it – it’s just how they are built; they are very sensitive, he says.

Vamshi adds that he’s taken a bunch of generational ideas and placed them in his protagonist, Vicky. And while the filmmaker does not fit into Gen Z, a lot of what he’s presented in his film comes from observing the younger lot of today. It is, therefore, no wonder that Vamshi believes that his target audience is the 15-year-old.

“We are still enamoured by films and filmmakers that we saw when we were that age, but today’s youngsters are exposed to so much content from across the world. We have to make films for them, so that they grow up on this kind of cinema and continue to follow us till they are 30-40 years-old, at least. Then, you have to go back and make films for the next set of 15-year-olds and the cycle repeats,” he adds.

Firefly, according to Vamshi, is an attempt at making a film for today’s generation. When people say that films are not being made for youngsters, it is because filmmakers are unaware of what this generation is all about and what their expectations are, the debutant explains. “You have to research this, write a story and see if it works. That attempt is Firefly,” he adds.

Presented by Bhairathi Ranagal star Shivarajkumar, Firefly is releasing on the birth anniversary of Dr Rajkumar. The Century Star has a cameo in the film, that also stars Achyuth Kumar, Rachana Inder, Sudharani, Chitkala Biradar, Sheetal Shetty and many more.